Buffalo Looks Past NAS With Cloudstor

New York - Buffalo
Technology is hoping its new Cloudstor storage device will give a boost to the
network-attached storage (NAS) space.

The Cloudstor, announced
at International CES, is now shipping with the 1TB version listed at $169 and
the 2TB model costing $269.

The Cloudstor differs
from other NAS products in that it can act as remote storage for mobile
products like smartphones, tablet PCs, and the users' laptops and desktops in
the home, said Brian Verenkoff.

The Cloudstor uses Pogoplug's
software and a website to remotely connect these devices to the storage unit.

The other major change is
user setup. The remote connectivity is handled with the owners email address
and a password.

"What has killed NAS is
the setup," Verenkoff said, adding it confused consumers when they had to deal
with the computer's firewall and IP address.

"By using only the email
address and password it is more familiar to the casual user," he said.

Since the Cloudstor is
being positioned as a storage product, not backup, it does not come with
pre-installed backup software, but it will work with the applications installed
in Windows and Macintosh.

Buffalo has supplied
Amazon and Buy.com, the two primary retailers, with videos explaining the
product to potential customers. The Cloudstor will also sell through
MicroCenter stores.